Building construction



Dec. 1, 1942.

E. T. SPENCER BUILDING ooNs'rRUcTIbN FiledJuly 17, 1959 INVENTOR Patented Dec. 1, 19,42 y

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION VEldridge T. Spencer, San Francisco, Calif., assignor of one-'third to Kenneth fH. Dyer, Berkeley,

Calif.

Application .my 17, 1939, `serial No. 284,871

(ci. `zo-zo 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in building construction and has particular reference to the quick Aand economic construction of relatively simple buildings by means of pre-fabricated units.

`One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a wall unit of considerable area that may be pre-fabricated and shipped from ,the

factory to the location of the building to be erected and may be easily and simply applied by the person constructing the house, the unit being comparatively light in weight and of sumcient area that relatively few units are necessary for the completion of the building,

Another object of my invention is to provide a wall unit oi the character described that is substantially self-sustaining and does not need any studdings for supporting the same.

Itis further proposed to provide means for holding the unit in vertical position, such means working on the cantilever principle and enabling the wall to take lateral stresses as Well as vertical stresses, without requiring any bracing means except such as are inherent in the construction of any building having intersecting walls.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means for joining different units in such a manner that the building structure it not weakened at the joints and is as leak-proof at the joints as in other places, while at the same time, the appearance of the joints when completed does not distinguish from the remainder of the wall structure.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds and the novel features of the same will be set forth in the `claims hereto appended.

The preferred form of Vmy invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 shows a vertical section through a simple building structure made in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2, a horizontal section through a corner of the building, and

Figure 3, a perspective detail View of one of the Wall units used in my invention.

While I have shown only the preferred form o'f my invention, I wish to have it understood I out that mybuilding structure unit may be as sucl cessfully Aemployed in other structures than buildings, such as fences,bill boa-rds and the like.

Referring to the ldrawing in detail, and particularly to Figure 3, Ait will be `seen that my building unit l Acomprises a panel 2, a superimposed insulating Ipaper 2', a plurality of yboards 3 arranged on thefpanel lengthwise anda number of "battens 4 covering the cracks or joints between the boards.

The panel is preferably 'made Vof ply-wood and is of :a length corresponding to the wall height of `the buildin-g to tloeerected. It-s width is preferably 48 inches, although, of course, the width may be changed yto suit particular conditions.

It should be understood, however, lthat the word panel, as used in this specication, is meant to describe a at building unit of `considerable width, 'preferably Aatleast three feet, and relatively thin, preferably about one-fourth or less of the thickness of the boards hereinafter mentioned. 'Such panels are of ystandard type in 'building 4construction and are usually known as three -ply panels.

The boards are preferably ofthe size of 1 by l2 inches so that four boards are required to cover one panel. Boards which are sold on the market ras `1 by 12s usually are a little less in width than -12 inches, say about one 'quarter of an inch, so that the total width of the four boards is about one inch less than that of the panel.

The boards are placed on the panel Ain such a manner thatat each side edge the panel projects about 1/2 Aan inch -beyond -the outer board, as shown at 5. These margins are used in the assembling of the structure to bring about a joint that resembles the joints between the individual boards so that no difference in appearance is discernible between the vdifferent points.

For erecting `the building, a suitable substruc- 'ture `is used, such as cement foundation indcated at 6, or a foundation of any other type desired which has a at and level upper surface. A so-called plate 1 `of conventional type is placed on the Afoundation, they plate corresponding in location to the outline of the building to be erected.

'Floor joists =8 are stretched across the building i-n the usual manner so that their ends rest yon oppositely .disposed plates. The ends of the oor joists yare joined fby means of a transversely disposed board 4or plank 9 yof the same height as the joists and Athe joists at Athe yeXtreme ends of the building `are made to rest von the end plates in the same manner, vso that the :boards 9 and the end. joists form a complete and continuous closure, leaving about one-half of the width of the respective plates to project beyond the floor joist area, as indicated at I U.

The building units are placed in upright position and in adjacent relation on the projecting portion of the plate so as to be supported thereon against vertical stresses, the panels facing inwardly, and their lower ends are nailed to the boards 9 or the end joists, the nails being made to pass through the boards 3, the insulating paper and the panels into the supporting boards.

Each of the building units is thus self-sustaining and is held, cantilever-style, against lateral stresses, without any further supporting means. Where two units are joined, as at Il in Figure 2, the two panels are made tol contact, but the outer boards will have about one inch clearance, due to the fact that the panel projects about 1/2 an inch beyond the marginal board.

This clearance is taken up by a wooden ller I I', which may be one by one or three quarters by three quarters inches, depending upon' the width of the clearance, a piece of insulating paper I2 being interposed between the three contacting sides of the filler and the walls forming the clearance. Finally a batten I3 is placed over the filler and adjacent parts of the adjacent boards, the batteri being of the same width and thickness as the other battens used to cover the cracks between the boards of each building unit.

The corner construction is also illustrated in Figure 2. The corner building units are made to contact at the inner panel edges, as at I4, and may be secured to a corner piece I5. Two fillers I6 are used to cover the projecting-margins of the panels and to Contact, as at l1, and twov battens I3' are employed to cover the joint,

one of the battens overlapping the edge of theV other, as at I8.

For roof construction, a plate 24 isplaced on top of the assembled wall structure, with a portion overhanging outwardly, as at I9 and another portion overhanging inwardly as at 20. A suitable moulding 2I may be placed in the corner as shown. Cords 22 and rafters 23 are then assembled in the conventional manner and mounted on the plates. 'I he rafters may be covered with sheathing and shingles or any other suitable roofing material.

It will be noted that this type of building construction offers many advantages.

The building units lend themselves readily to prefabrication with standard materials. No matter what size panels of ply-wood are used, whether 3, 4, 8, 10 or l2 feet in width, and what sizes of boards are used, whether 6, 8, 10

or l2 inches in width, the general rule prevails that the aggregate width of standard size boards used will be somewhat less than the width of the panel, if the commercial overall dimensions are made to agree.

This is true because the actual width of the boardsA is somewhat less than the indicated three-quarter inch ller strips surrounded by weather proof paper or cloth.

Both sides of the wall lend themselves to iinishing by application of suitable decorative features.

The corners of the building may be finished by use of the same material as is used at the joints in the fiat faces of the wall.`

Due to the possible omission of the studdings, the weight and material used is considerably less than in conventional structure using the studding, which makes for economy in construction and cheapness in cost.

Due to fabrication of large units, light in weight, the cost'of labor in assembling the building is reduced considerably and the time consumed in erecting the building is cut down and also less skilled aid is necessary in constructing the same.

The cantilever action is of particular.. importance. Each wall building unit stands by itself, resting firmly on the plate against vertical loads and being secured at its lower end to the iloor joists assembly to stand upright against wind pressure and lateral stresses, such as occasioned by earthquakes. The number of nails or hardware used for securing the panels is negligible as compared with conventional construction.

The upper'ends of the upright pan-els are joined by the top plates which serve in distributing loads, lateral as well as Vertical. And finally the upper ends of opposing side walls are joinedby the ceiling or roof construction so that the opposite wall cooperates with the near Wallin resisting wind pressures or lateral loads brought to bear on the latter. p

The top plate also serves to distribute lateral pressures where some of the panels are not in cantilever action on account of being non-continuous, as, for instance, being interrupted `by window and door construction.

I claim:

1. In building construction, a unitary, floor joist assembly having opposing vertical facespre fabricated building units comprising relatively thin and wide ply-wood panels of wall height and a substantially continuous series of upright boards of less Width and greater thickness'secured to the outside thereof from the bottom up so as to take the bulk of lateral stresses, the said building units being arranged with their lower ends adjacent the vertical faces of the oor joist assembly, and means passing through the boards and the panels into the iloor joist assembly for securing the lower ends of the building units to the vertical faces, of the oor joist assembly, whereby each unit is independently supported against lateral stresses and in the absence of supporting frame members.

2. In building construction, a horizontal foundation, a unitary oor joist .assembly'resting thereon and having opposing Verticalfaces, prefabricated building units comprisingrelatively thin and wide ply-wood panelslof wall height and a substantially continuous series of upright boards of less width and greater thickness secured to the outside thereof from the bottom up so as to take the bulk of lateral stresses, the said building units being arranged with their lower ends resting'on the foundation and disposed adjacent the vertical faces of the floor joist assembly, and means passing through the boards and the panels into the oor joist assembly for securing `the lower ends of the building units to the vertical faces of the oor joist assembly, whereby each unit is independently supported against lateral stresses and in the absence of supporting frame members.

3. In building construction, a horizontal foundation, a unitary floor joist assembly resting thereon and having opposing vertical faces, prefabricated building units comprising relatively thin and Wide panels of Wall height and a substantially continuous series of upright boards of less Width and greater thickness secured to the outside thereof from the bottom up so as to take the bull: of lateral stresses, the said building units being arranged with their lower ends resting on the foundation and disposed adjacent the vertical faces of the floor joist assembly, means passing through the boards and the panels into the ioor joist assembly for securing the lower ends of the building units to the Vertical faces of the floor joist assembly, whereby each unit is independently supported against lateral stresses and in the absence of supporting frame members, and. 

